CD REVIEW - KNIFE EDGE


Knife Edge
Music by Guy Farley
MovieScore Media MMS-09022
23 Tracks 39:19 mins

This is the second recent score release for Guy Farley. His first, for Clive Barker's Book of Blood (on La-La Land Records) was something of a disappointment, and now his music for the Anthony Hickox thriller Knife Edge, whilst enjoyable, is very derivative, being either an affectionate hommage, as described on the label's website, to greats like Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith, or another case of the "curse of the temp track."
Straight away we are plunged into Psycho territory with the propulsive "Title Theme, giving way to more Herrmann in his expansive-stringed romantic territory, ala Vertigo, among others, with the more mysterious side of the late, great composer featuring in "The House."
There are some thunderous crescendos in "Raven Attack," and an overall feeling of eeriness. Jerry Goldsmith makes his first appearance in the rhythmic "Collapsed," and then "A Kiss" presents a John Barryish love theme, whilst "Sisters" is more of a Goldsmith-inspired piece of sunniness. "Business Problems" expands upon the "Title Theme," with "Emma and Pollock" briefly recalling the theme intro from The Omen (the original of course). There's more eeriness and savage outbursts in "Drug Nightmare," leading to the poignant "It's Turning." It's back to Goldsmith for the menacing opening of "The Hidden Room," contrasting with the lightly drifting "Old Photos." It's back to mysterious territory for "The Nursery," with Barry Gray-like strings, followed by more savagery at the opening of "The Knife, followed by John Williams (Dracula)-like strings.
The percussive quirkiness of "Chase" shows a little originality, but then Herrmannesque strings return for "The Syringe," "Going Mad" and "Roof Chase," the latter metamorphosing into something of a Herrmann/Goldsmith stringed ostinato, before ending with a Psycho-like string attack. After all this, "Together" offers a brief moment of solace, before the ostinato returns to end the cue with a bang.
The penultimate cue, "Lovers" returns us to romantic territory, with a reprise of the Barry-like theme, before the main theme, properly titled "Knife Edge Theme," to close the score.
To sum it all up, it's an entertaining listen, and kind of fun trying to guess the references throughout this score, but at the end of the day one spends little time talking about the score's composer, Guy Farley, and more about the other composers whose work it is so blatantly based on - and surely that can't be a good thing.
Available on CD and to download, go to www.moviescoremedia.com/knifeedge.html for samples and ordering details.